Identity
by ShoesnGlitter
Summary: Fitz/Olivia pairing, imagine what could happen if Olivia agreed to returning to the 'Grant for the People' campaign? Enjoy. -SG.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi, this is my first ever scandal fanfiction and the first time I have ever posted anything on despite being a huge scandal and fanfiction fan._

_I have uploaded sort of an introduction of a fanfiction that I've had ideas of for a while._

_I obviously don't own or have had no part in the creation of Olivia, Fitz, all other characters and scandal itself, that's all down to Shonda._

_Hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think._

_-SG._

The hand sitting in his own was familiar, comparably small yet not quite delicate enough to be correct. His fingers brushed across hers as she pulled her hand from his own and folded her arms across the tight red fabric of her dress. He turned to face her, giving her a questioning glance with a small frown that hopefully was undetected by the other few hundred guests in the large room. He watched as his wife beckoned for him to follow her a couple of feet away from the side of the dancefloor. He complied and leant back against a wall, softly touching the green and gold velvet of the drapes,

'Don't play with the curtains Fitz, you're not a child,' Mellie scolded in a hushed voice as she slapped his hand away from it before folding her arms once again and staring at him. His eyes bore back before he glanced over his shoulder,

'It's your birthday party Mellie, there are world leaders here, I don't have time to stand here in silence,' Fitz responded with a swift jerk of his head in the direction of the President of France who was currently twirling his wife around the dancefloor to the sounds of the live band.

Mellie rolled her eyes, 'you don't have the time to stand around with _me_ at _my _birthday party but you have enough time to stand around in silence staring at Olivia.' She nodded her head at Fitz's blank stare. 'Don't worry, I'll entertain our guests.' Fitz let out a sigh as Mellie swept away, greeting a couple with a beaming smile and a signature flick of her hair. His eyes swept the room, searching for Olivia, searching for the long gold dress that had him captivated all evening, searching for the expressive chocolate eyes that only reflected his own sadness.

After a few moments his eyes were connected with hers, she quickly looked away, focusing back upon the man she was currently engaged into conversation with. Fitz frowned uncontrollably and grabbed a champagne flute from a waiter's silver tray as he passed him with a nod of his head as he stood against the wall simply observing the woman who held his heart from across the room. He swiftly gulped down the champagne as he watched the man invite her to dance, his eyes narrowed, positive that she wouldn't accept his kind offer and that she would instinctively giggle but reject his advances. Fitz's jaw clenched and his stomach knotted as he watched her accept the older mans offer as he led her to the dance floor. He grabbed another champagne flute as it passed him and gulped it down in one before placing the empty glass on the window ledge next to him as he watched candidly. The man's hand on the small of her back made his insides writhe, his other hand in hers. Fitz shook his head. This was all wrong.

He slumped down into a chair at an empty table, ignoring the glances from surrounding party guests as he cradled a small glass filled with scotch in his hand. Olivia was laughing. Not the same carefree, sweet sounding laugh she did when it was just her and him, it was her being mildly entertained laugh, but all the same, she was laughing with another man. He rubbed his hand over his face, feeling increasingly intoxicated as he swirled the amber liquid in its glass. He lifted his head slightly as he noticed someone pulling a chair up next to him and groaned as he saw a woman in his peripheral vision who was edging her seat closer to his.

'Mellie please not now.' He grumbled,

'Who said anything about Mellie?' A voice replied, Fitz scrunched his face in confusion as he turned his head to face the unrecognisable tone. His eyes widened slightly as his eyes settled upon a blonde woman in her 30s, 'sorry Mr. President, I should've introduced myself, I'm Naomi.' Fitz nodded, still somewhat bewildered by her identity as he took a sip of his scotch. 'I only started work in the White House last week, I work for Vice-President Langston's Chief of Staff,' she confirmed and he nodded his head.

He glanced around, clicking his fingers for a waiter and taking two glasses of champagne, handing one to Naomi and placing the other on the table in from of him. 'Call me Fitz.'


	2. Nameless Blonde

**Hi,**

**Thank you for the reviews they were lovely to read,**

**Just want to quickly say that there may be some drama along the way in this fic, they wouldn't be Olitz without a bit of drama would they? But it'll always be those two, I know the first part worried some of you before and got you a bit antsy but have no fear Olitz will always overrule eventually.**

**Again, I own no part of scandal or the characters etc, that's all Shonda.**

**-S&G**

'Have you seen him over there? Anybody would think that his wife wasn't present,' Sally Langston complained with a twist of her head towards where Fitz was laughing at something incredibly funny that Naomi had said whilst she leant closer to him. Olivia glanced at Sally and smiled politely before following her gaze and settling it upon Fitz and his companion. Her eyes narrowed as she tilted her head to one side and observed their close body language. Naomi flicked her hair to one side over her shoulder as she leant forwards and giggled, placing a hand on Fitz's thigh and Olivia raised her eyebrows before noticing Cyrus striding towards her from over Sally's shoulder.

'Sorry Sally, I think Cyrus wants me,' she abruptly excused herself and dodged around Sally, placing her hands on Cyrus' shoulders as he approached her and spun him around on the spot. 'Calm down, you're going to have another heart attack storming around like this,' she ordered as he pushed her hands off his shoulders.

'Have you seen him?' Cyrus screeched, 'allowing of one Sally's bible bashing bimbo's to drape herself all over him and to hell with god, what the hell does he think he's doing. You need to fix this Liv.' Olivia's mouth gaped open before she studied his facial expressions to gauge him for a moment. She shook her head firmly,

'Oh no, this has nothing to do with me Cyrus, I love you and I'm a fixer but I've publicly fixed his marriage one too many times,'

'And privately broken his marriage don't forget,' Cyrus chipped in, sighing as Olivia glared at him. 'Ok I'm sorry that was unnecessary,' he waved his hands in front of her as a way of desperate apology.

'Cyrus, my answer is no, tell Mellie to collect him from his new mistress before he cheats on both his wife and his girlfriend in front of twelve heads of state, that's her job, not mine, if he wants to do whatever with some nameless aide then that's up to him,' Olivia stated with a shrug of her shoulders,

'That might not be necessary,' Cyrus added, nodding his head towards Fitz as Mellie approached him.

Fitz stared upwards as Mellie stood over him, her false smile plastered firmly in place as she glimpsed Naomi up and down. 'Mellie, hi,' he said with a goofy grin as he swilled the glass of champagne in his hand, 'what can I do for you?'

Mellie raised her eyebrows in disgust as he sat back in his seat and gazed up at her before she turned her attention to Naomi. 'As lovely as it is to meet you, I would like a moment with my husband, President Grant, on our own,' she hinted, her forced smile still firmly painted across her lips. Naomi nodded her head and began to move away until she was interrupted by Fitz's hand on her arm, forcing her back down into her seat.

'She isn't going anywhere, say what you want to say and then go away Mellie,' his short tone and slurred words struck a chord with Mellie as she placed a hand on the back of her chair and leant in close to his ear in order to keep her voice low,

'Congratulations, you've made your whore jealous with a nobody Fitzgerald but if you think I'm sticking around at my own birthday party to watch you make a fool out of yourself in front of the world then you are very much mistaken.' She smiled as she leant away from his ear, flattened her dress down with her hands and nodded courteously at Naomi before heading towards Cyrus and Olivia.

Cyrus and Olivia turned as they saw Mellie heading towards them, her jaw clenched in anger, 'here we go,' Cyrus muttered as she approached, 'Mellie! Are you having a nice evening? Lovely band,' he addressed as she mumbled something incoherent before sighing and stroking her hair out of her face.

'Cyrus don't play games with me, don't pretend like you can't see him sitting over there drinking far too much and becoming far too close with whoever the hell that is.' She turned to face Olivia, 'would you go over and speak to him?' Olivia shook her head with a worried glance as Naomi shuffled her chair closer to his and Mellie followed her gaze. 'Please Liv, he listens to you,' her tone was sweet, verging on desperate as she made eye contact with Olivia, 'I've tried but he just continues to sit there making a fool out of all of us.' Olivia sighed deeply, nodded her head briefly before smoothing her dress down.

'Atta girl Liv,' Cyrus praised, grinning as he felt himself become calmer, safe in the knowledge that his president would listen to Olivia Pope.

'I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it for him. The last thing he needs for his presidency is another allegation of an affair on the front page of every newspaper in the country,' Olivia explained in a short tone before moving towards where Fitz was sitting, slumped over his glass of undrunk champagne and nodding in response to the blonde. Olivia cleared her throat as she stood at the side of him, her hands on her hips.

'Not now Mellie' Fitz groaned,

'Nope not Mellie,' Olivia quipped, smirking at him devilishly as he sat up and jerked his head to face her.

He held out his hand towards her, 'Livie!' She swatted his hand away from her before it could reach its destination and he pouted softly, 'don't be like that.'

'We need to talk, in private,' Olivia said with a fleeting glance at Naomi who shrugged her shoulders,

'What is it you said Mr. President? I'm not going away.' The smugness in her voice made Olivia's eyes widen as she tilted her head to one side before looking at Fitz who squirmed uncomfortably in his seat.

'Give us a minute,' he stated firmly, shaking his head as Naomi made to argue, 'I said, leave me and Olivia to it.' She grabbed her bag and rose from her seat, her brow furrowed in frustration as she moved to the next table and watched them both intensely. 'So they send you to sort out the drunken cheat?' Fitz said with a bitter laugh as Olivia sat in Naomi's chair and moved his glass of champagne out of his reach with a raise of her brow,

'No, I came over here for you, not for them which is exactly what I told both Cyrus and Mellie.' She informed as he scoffed,

'Yeah right, you don't care, you just dance with any man who asks and leave me with some blonde whore,' he grimaced as he threw a glance at the next table.

'What? This is what this is all about? I can spend time with whoever I like, I can dance with whoever I want to whether it be in a purely professional capacity or otherwise, you can't control me.' He made to interrupt but she raised her hand and continued, 'this is your wife's birthday party, there are journalists here, other heads of state and the entire staff of the White House, you cannot be seen as anything less than performing your husbandly duties with your wife. Hold her hand, tell her she looks nice and dance with her but whatever you do, do not ignore her and when you see me being polite to another man act out like a child and throw a tantrum. You do not need bad press your approval ratings and only just touching the 50s, if you want to flirt with blonde whores do it in your own time away from everybody else.' She sat back in her seat as he studied her silently,

'Blonde whores? So you get jealous too?' He asked with a drunken grin and she quietly growled under her breath in frustration.

'That is irrelevant.' Fitz stood up and steadied himself on his feet before beginning to walk away, beckoning her to follow him. She sighed, collecting her clutch off the table and reluctantly following him out of the Grand Ballroom, intentionally avoiding looking in the direction of Mellie and Cyrus.

'Great, from one whore to another.' Mellie folded her arms and glanced at Cyrus who ignored her remark. 'At least it's Olivia I suppose.'

'Fitz where are you going?' Olivia asked as he held her hand tightly and led her through the White House corridors before her reached a door and turned the handle, opening the door as he glanced inside before pulling her in and shutting the door behind her. He quickly released her hand and backed her against the door, leaning in close to her. 'Fitz' she said softly as she gazed back into his blue eyes, one of his hands securely on her waist and the other resting at the side of her head against the door. 'You're drunk,' she told him, smelling the alcohol on him in his close proximity to her as he shook his head,

'I'm not quite as drunk as you, Cyrus and Mellie think I am.' He leant forwards and brushed his lips against hers before pulling back slightly, 'I'm not too drunk to notice how beautiful you look tonight,' she smiled feeling her angry resolve disappear as she wrapped her left arm around his neck and pulled him closer in order to initiate a deeper kiss. He took her clutch bag from her hand and dropped it to the floor before releasing her lips from his and began to leave fleeting kisses down her neck,

'Fitz we shouldn't,'

He glanced up at her, pressing his body into hers as he nodded his head, 'oh we should,' she allowed him another kiss before turning her head slightly in order to break their connection,

'There are cameras all over the white house,' she excused,

'I'll make sure Tom is on duty to delete it,' he reasoned, making her arch her back into his touch as she felt his fingers against the silk of her dress on her thigh and he placed a kiss on her collarbone. She opened her eyes as she stroked her hand through his hair before trying to gain a grasp on reality,

'No, no Fitz it's not right, we can't do this here,' she placed her hands against his broad shoulders and pushed him backwards off her as he sighed,

'Livie,' he reached out his hand towards her waist and groaned as she expertly dodged his touch, quickly grabbing her clutch bag from the floor,

'I need to go and you should go to bed, sleep off the scotch and champagne Mr. President,' she saw the disappointed look in his eyes and stepped forwards to where he was, standing up on her tip-toes and kissing him gently, 'it's for the best right now.' He stroked his hand down her side softly and watched as she exited through the door, a frustrated groan escaping him as the door shut behind her.


	3. The Campaign Manager

**Hi,**

**Thank you for the positive reviews so far so just thought I would drop off another chapter.**

**All reviews are welcome, also ideas of where you see the story heading and what you'd like to happen would be interesting to read, especially as this story isn't planned in advance so it can go any way!**

**Again, usual disclaimer counts.**

**Thanks,**

**-S&G**

Olivia groaned as the shrill ringing of her mobile phone echoed throughout her office for the fifth time within ten minutes. She pressed the reject call button once again as she slammed her pen on the desk in frustration, unable to concentrate on the paperwork she was filling in. She glanced through the glass doors towards the main table where her Associates were gathered around the table focusing on a single computer screen with Huck at the forefront. She rose from her desk and stepped into the room, frowning as everybody in the adjoining room fell silent and stared towards her.

'Ok... What have I missed?' She probed cautiously as she moved closer to them and perched on the edge of the desk, they all glanced from one another before back at her, the silence overwhelming them. 'Someone tell me...'

'Nothing's happened Liv,' Harrison reassured her with a nod of his head, 'Huck is just hacking into some intel for Senator Richards' case, it's no big deal we're handling it.'

Olivia nodded her head in agreement, 'well I know you're all more than capable of handling it but that doesn't explain the whispering and the silence,'

'We want to know what's wrong with you today,' Abby stated, shrugging her shoulders as Quinn sighed and Harrison nudged her, 'what? You've been quiet all day Liv just sitting in your office letting your phone ring.'

'There is nothing wrong with me, I'm busy' she explained with a wave of her hand as she batted away their concern. She sighed as the phone at the end of the main desk began to ring.

'I'll get it,' Harrison offered signalling for her to sit down as he answered the phone. 'Olivia Pope and Associates,' he looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding his head and holding the receiver towards Olivia, 'Liv it's for you.'

Olivia stood from her place at the table and took the phone from Harrison as she gave him a forced smile, 'Olivia Pope,'

'Hi,' she rolled her eyes as she heard Fitz's deep tones flow through the telephone line,

'What do you want?' She asked, throwing a cautious glance towards Harrison as he watched her carefully,

'You've been ignoring my calls all day,' he reasoned,

'I'm working.'

'Come to the White House later,' she frowned as she heard his orders,

'Again, I'm working,'

'Livi,' his voice turned softer as breathed her name.

She sighed in exasperation, 'goodbye.' She placed the receiver back in its holder, cutting him off from her before throwing a false smile towards the group of people gathered around the large conference table and making her way back into the safety of her personal office.

Olivia stepped out of the lift in her apartment block as she took her gloves off and began to root around in her bag for her keys. Upon finding them she placed the correct key in the lock and opened the door, throwing her gloves and bag on to the surface next to the front door as she shut the door behind her with her foot. She reached up for the light switch, gasping in shock as the room became induced in light and it highlighted a man standing in front of her sofa staring back at her. She clutched her chest with her hand as she took a deep breath,

'You scared me.' She stated with a look of distaste as he shrugged his shoulders,

'Sorry but if I told you that I was coming would you have come home?' He asked as he watched her take her coat off.

'Fitz' she paused as she studied him briefly before continuing, 'I told you I was busy, I've been working, I can't drop everything when you ring me, people rely on me,' she told him, walking forwards and placing her coat on the back of the sofa and making eye contact with him for the first time before she glanced around her apartment. 'Where are Tom and Hal?'

Fitz chuckled to himself as he resumed his position that he was in prior to her entry on the sofa, 'they're probably outside your door now, I made them hide in the corridor like naughty schoolboys until you came home otherwise you'd know I was here.'

'So what are you doing here? Aside from making yourself extremely comfortable on my couch.' She asked, leaning over the back of the sofa as she surveyed him sprawled across her furniture,

'You wouldn't answer my...'

'I answered your call.' She cut in,

'Oh come on, barely.' He retorted, 'I hardly call being forced to say hello down the phone a conversation with my girlfriend,' she rolled her eyes and walked towards the kitchen, 'what now? Why do you do this?' He questioned, confused by her attitude as he watched her pull a bottle of red wine from the cupboard and a glass,

'I'm not doing anything, wine?' She offered and he nodded his head in agreement and watched as she brought the wine and glasses over to the small coffee table in front of him. 'Who knows you're here?' She asked and he rolled his eyes,

'Cyrus knows if that's what you're asking but it doesn't matter, I'm talking about you right now.' He told her, taking a sip of the wine from the glass she had just poured him before moving his feet off her sofa in order to make room for her to seat herself next to him. He sat in silence for a moment as he silently watched her sip her wine and curl up into the corner of the couch, 'is this about last night?'

Olivia suddenly looked more intrigued and leant forwards, replacing her glass of wine on the coffee table and turned to face him with her head tilted sideways as she waited for him to continue. 'I'm sorry?' He attempted, he looked back at her to gauge her reaction and was disappointed as she leant back into a cushion, apparently unimpressed with his apology. 'Right ok so that is the problem' he concluded with a despondent sigh.

She turned to face him once again, 'of course it's the problem! You cannot do that to me Fitzgerald, you cannot play me anymore when I so much as speak to another man, you're married.'

Fitz ran a hand through his hair, 'oh come on Olivia you know I'm only married to Mellie because you tell me to be and I'd leave her again in a heartbeat, her and the presidency. You know me Olivia, you know I would never have done anything with that girl.'

'Two words Fitz; Amanda Tanner.' Fitz stood up in contempt as his mouth gaped open,

'I can't even believe that you're bringing that up, you seriously think that I would have slept with that girl? Amanda Tanner was a mistake, I was drunk, lonely and hurt,' he began to raise his voice as she stood up to level with him.

'Exactly the same as you were last night, I can't live on edge Fitz, I can't worry about what sort of mood you're in and how much you've had to drink and how those factors will affect my life,' she retorted with a shake of her head as he leant forwards and tried to take her hand.

'Livie,' he said gently, stepping forwards and threading his fingers through her hair, 'Liv come on.'

'What?' She asked petulantly as she pouted and glanced upwards at him as he took her hand in his and pulling her closer to him,

'I love you.' Her eyes locked on to his as she let out a breath that she wasn't aware she was ever holding in, her hand bound tightly around his. 'I promise you, I would never.' She placed her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes and inhaling his scent as he placed a kiss on the top of her head and mimicked her actions, resting his chin on the top of her head. He stepped backwards cautiously, gently tugging her to make her follow his movements as he sat on the sofa and pulled her down with him, resting his head back on hers as she cuddled up to his side, his hand gently stroking her waist.

After a few minutes silence, Fitz spoke, 'I wanted to meet you at the White House earlier, to formally ask you to come back to us,' she frowned, pulling back from him to study his face as she sat up slightly, 'to work for us on the next campaign trail, we need our fixer.'

'Oh,' she mumurred softly and he rubbed her trouser clad thigh with the palm of his hand,

'Oh?' He questioned, 'Mellie knows the deal now, if she wants to remain as first lady she embraces you, I stay with you on the campaign and she would only be there for the necessary photo ops and events. We really need a campaign manager and none of us want anybody but the best, but the best is you Olivia,' he charmed, his arms still wrapped around her.

'You know Mellie asked me before we got back together? Said how much you needed me, begged me to come back for the re-election campaign?' She asked and he nodded his head,

'I do.' He sighed, 'we have just under two weeks until we should really start the campaign and we are lacking some serious Olivia Pope organisation skills.'

'What's the plan so far?' She asked, raising her eyebrows at him as he stared blankly, 'you don't have one?' He shook his head as he avoided her gaze, 'in less than two weeks you need to be back on the road, kissing babies, helping old ladies cross the road in full view of the media and you haven't planned any of it?'

He leant forwards, kissing her fully on the lips before smiling at her, 'I'll have you an office ready in the West Wing by Monday.' He re-wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him,

'I haven't agreed yet.' She muttered into his chest and he simply smiled at her as he sighed in contentment.


	4. Logical Thinker or Hopeless Romantic?

**Hi,**

**Again, thank you for the reviews, they're very much appreciated and I love reading them so share all ideas, thoughts and possible happenings for future chapters with me. I don't bite! **

**This update is longer than the others have been but I feel as though not a great deal happens in this chapter, it's a bit of a filler. Despite that I tried to balance out the other characters input with keeping some Olitz goodness in there. **

**As someone asked in the review what series this is set, you're correct it's roughly series 3. Mellie has accepted that Fitz needs Olivia, as has Cyrus, both only to some extent though obviously they would never be happy because that would be too easy! Olivia's mother is still 'off the radar' after she disappeared on the plane. **

**Usual disclaimer of not owning or creating the characters exists,**

**Thanks,**

**-S&G**

Fitz yawned as he squinted through the darkness of the room and felt the sheets that covered his torso move as Olivia rolled over and slid closer to him from her side of the bed. He smiled uncontrollably as he watched the outline of her in the darkness snuggle into his side, her arm fastening itself across the warmth of his stomach and her head resting on his chest as he rubbed her arm gently. He lay back and listened to the storm outside as the rain hit the windows violently and he leant forwards to gently place a kiss on the top of her head.

'I don't like rain,' Olivia mumbled as she squeezed herself against him and his grin grew slightly wider as he wrapped his arm around her into a firmer clutch. Sleepy Livvie was arguably his favourite version of Olivia. The strength of her innocence and vulnerability that radiated from her as she exhaled deeply always amazed him as her consciousness remained dormant and she allowed her control to slip away. 'Time is it?' Her sleep-ridden voice pulled him from his mental musings,

Fitz lifted his head from the pillow slightly and glanced across at the time on the phone at the side of her bed, 'just after 5,'

'Do you need to leave?' She asked, the dejection in her voice overwhelmed him and he sighed,

'No, I'll stay until morning, go back to sleep Livie.' He heard her make an incoherent sleep induced noise as a response and sighed before closing his eyes and attempting to sleep for an extra hour.

Fitz buried his head underneath the crisp white of the pillow, locking his hands around it to pull it closer around his ears as he desperately tried to block out the shrill noise of Olivia's alarm. He let out a heavy breath as the noise stopped and he felt the bed rock underneath his stomach as he assumed Olivia moved to switch off the alarm. He felt her shake his arm and shrugged her off, groaning into the material of the pillow before reluctantly lifting his head and turning to face her,

'Hi' he grumbled,

'Hi,' she paused for a moment as she surveyed his askew hair and tried to hold back a smirk. He watched as she glimpsed back towards her alarm before her expression transformed and she looked at him disapprovingly, 'it's 6.30AM, what are you still doing here?' He rolled over and lay on his back, flopping his arms down by his sides as she sat on the edge of the bed,

'Liv,'

'Fitz.' She responded blankly, awaiting an answer,

'I couldn't leave you, I wanted to be here,' he said honestly as he fixed his gaze at the ceiling. He listened as he listened to her shrug on her robe and disappear into the bathroom, the door closing behind her. He waited for a few minutes, listening aimlessly to the sound of running water before the door reopened and she stepped through, giving him a small smile as she passed him to signal that she wasn't entirely annoyed with him and opened her wardrobe doors. 'Should I leave?' He asked cautiously, sitting up in bed and allowing the sheets to pool at his hips. He watched her through the mirror as her eyes connected with his through the reflections as she shuffled through a rail of clothing,

'Do I want you to? Of course not,' she shook her head and pulled out a white long sleeved blouse tossing it on to the bed and turning her towards him entirely as she stood at the foot of the bed. 'However, you need to be back in the White House before the press corps and the rest of the administration start work. It's irresponsible.'

He rolled his eyes in response, 'you sound like Cyrus.' She made a disapproving noise as she narrowed her eyes at him,

'You've put in for re-election, we're going to wait another four years to be together, we've spoken about this, it's hard but you need to be the best you can be for this country.' Fitz pulled a childish face and she frowned, pointing a finger at him. 'Did you just make a face at me?'

'Just stop being so serious and come back to bed.' He stated, reaching his arms out to grab her and she quickly stepped back,

'Did you not listen to a word I just...' she stopped as her phone started ringing and she trotted around the bed and glanced at the caller ID before throwing the phone at Fitz who caught it skilfully, 'it's Cyrus, you can deal with him.'

Fitz shrugged petulantly as he accepted the call, 'good morning Cyrus... yes I'm at Olivia's...' he moved the phone away from his ear for a moment and pressed the loud speaker button, making Olivia turn back from where she was choosing a pair of trousers from her wardrobe and focus in on the phone as she folded her arms across herself.

'Mr. President with all due respect I cannot get you re-elected if you continue to spend every night in a bed that isn't in the White House, people get suspicious, they start asking questions, they start putting 2 and 2 together and getting 4, then they start realising that the original rumours about you two and your torrid affair were correct and before we know it, boom.' Cyrus ranted,

'Boom?' Fitz teased,

'Yes boom. I know I agreed to all of this but if you want to continue your love story you need to play by the rules, be in your correct bed by the early hours of the morning being rule number one.' Cyrus told him firmly,

'You sound like Liv.' Fitz complained, raising his hands to his head to protect himself as Olivia threw a jumper at him. He chuckled lightly,

'I'm glad one of you has some level of self-control.'

'Cyrus, I'll be back in an hour, just tell anyone who asks I went out early for a walk, I couldn't sleep very well and walking helps. Nobody will even question it.' Fitz instructed and Cyrus made a small responding noise which Fitz assumed was an agreement before the line went dead. 'Anyone would think you two have been conspiring against me during the night,' Fitz joked as Olivia leant over the bed and collected the jumper she had thrown at him.

Fitz straightened his tie as he drummed his fingers on the edge of his desk as he glanced around the oval office, ignoring Cyrus as he paced back and forth around the room, 'I think it's possible' Fitz added in for good measure as Cyrus collapsed into a chair and groaned loudly.

'Mr. President, we've been through this. You cannot divorce Mellie in the midst of an election campaign. It. Will. Not. Work.' He watched as Fitz rose from his desk and took a seat on the sofa to the right of the armchair that Cyrus had flopped into in exasperation. 'It's 9AM Sir and I can't take much more of this, you made the choice, you and Olivia made the choice.'

Fitz frowned as he crossed his legs casually, 'I'm the leader of the free world, I can change my mind.' He rested his head on to his hand as he leant his elbow on to the arm of the chair for support. 'Olivia's plan still works. I get re-elected, I divorce Mellie, I date, I tell the American people that I love Olivia.'

Cyrus shook his head, 'it isn't that simple. We agreed, you and Olivia agreed you'd have to wait. What does she think of all of this? I suppose you've got her on board with the power of seduction?' His tone was disapproving and Fitz shrugged his shoulders, 'oh, oh I see. You've not told her yet.'

'I don't want to build up her hopes for something that might not be possible if Mellie kicks up a stink the size of Europe,'

Cyrus rolled his eyes and sat up further in his chair, 'and what in the name of god makes you even think for a moment that she won't?'

'I don't, that's the problem.' Cyrus abruptly stood to his feet, 'where are you going?' Fitz asked as Cyrus began walking towards the door, 'Cy?' Fitz called, his brow furrowing in confusion as the door to the oval office closed behind a silent Cyrus.

'Look I know it's going to be hard but I'll only ever just be on the other end of the phone if you guys ever need advice on how to handle a situation,' Olivia told her associates as they all sat around the main table. 'Is everybody ok with this? I know it's sudden,' she checked, implicitly asking for reassurance as she informed them of her impending work on the Grant for the people re-election campaign.

Harrison nodded, 'Liv we all expected it after Josie Marcus pulled out,' she glanced across at Quinn and Abby who both also nodded their agreement. 'We can handle it,' Harrison reassured her.

'Um Liv,' Huck interrupted and Olivia followed his eye line towards the door behind her, frowning as she observed Cyrus bustling through the door with a pushchair. She stood to her feet,

'Cyrus?'

'Can we talk?' He asked and she nodded in slight confusion as she glanced down at Ella who was sitting up in her pushchair looking around intrigued by the new surroundings with wide eyes.

'Sure.' She beckoned for him to follow her into her office.

Cyrus lifted Ella out of her seat and held her out for Olivia to take her and Olivia leant back slightly and raised her hands, 'Cyrus you know I'm not great with babies.' Cyrus wiggled Ella at her gently as he shrugged,

'Nonsense you're her godmother, you don't see her enough.' Olivia glanced at him and realised he wasn't giving in and took a gurgling Ella from his hands, carefully placing her so that she was sitting on her lap as she held her around her middle and looked at her cautiously. 'She's just started walking on her own now and she can say dada, only to James, apparently I work too much for her to get too attached yet here we are,' Cyrus informed her, a false jovial tone to his voice which caused Olivia to question his motives further.

'Cyrus, why are you here?' She asked as she bounced Ella on her knee gently,

'I told you, you don't see enough of Ella, she needs to get to know you better now she's remembering people.' Olivia lifted her head from where she was concentrating on Ella and tilted her head to the side as she focused on Cyrus and made a small hmming noise as he looked around her office, avoiding eye contact.

'Is this about me coming back on the campaign? You're worried about me and Fitz?' She guessed and his smile disappeared as he accepted her offer of eye contact,

'You're coming back on the campaign trail?' He asked and she raised her eyebrows,

'You didn't know?' He shook his head to confirm her theory. 'I thought he would've told you,' she glimpsed down as Ella tugged on the neckline of her blouse,

'No. I think he's freezing me out again Liv and you need to work whatever magic it is that you do and get him to let me back in otherwise this re-election campaign will be a joke. I can't be his dragon if I don't know what sword-wielding knights on horses I'm battling.' Olivia chewed her lower lip briefly as she thought, 'he wants to go back to the original plan Liv, president with you as first lady.'

Olivia sighed deeply as she fastened her fingers together around Ella and leant back on the sofa. She had sensed in her gut that it was still a peripheral plan for Fitz but had pushed it to one side, not wanting to get her hopes up, not allowing herself to be indulged by her desire to be with him publicly. She remained silent as she thought it over, the romantic in her was overwhelmed with emotion and was desperately ordering her that it was possible, her plan was good before and it could still work with a small tweak here and there. The other side of her brain, the logical, pragmatic side of her brain was screaming at her. It was a bad idea, the American people would never accept her as First Lady, Mellie would never disappear quietly and Cyrus would never get through it all without another heart attack. Cyrus. Her brain flipped back to reality and she realised that she had been staring ahead blankly as Cyrus waved his hand in front of her face.

'Earth to Liv,' she stared at him in silence and he sighed taking in her doe eyes and he could almost hear her brain ticking over. He shook his head at her and stood up, 'not you too Olivia. Please, I thought you would have some sense.' He paused and looked down at her as Ella leant against her and they both stared back up at him with large watery eyes. 'Olivia, you need to be the strong one, you need to stop letting your heart overrule that big brilliant brain of yours and that instinctive gut you have because right now you're ignoring both of them. You're the fixer, there's a problem and you fix it, you and Fitz are the Romeo and Juliet, you're the problem. You're the gladiator, the woman behind the power suits of Washington and right now you're losing it and Fitz will lose his re-election, you'll both lose everything. I know you'll have each other and it'll all be sunshine and daisies in your perfect little world but you were both born to be great and you're the achilles heel.' He frowned as she remained silent, her mouth agape slightly. 'Olivia!' He shouted, she visibly jumped at his loud voice and frowned, readjusting Ella on her lap as she whimpered slightly at the tension in the air.

'I... I don't know what to say Cyrus,' she told him truthfully.

'Of course you don't, you've been blindsided by love' he spat before spinning on his heel and heading for the door. Olivia rose to her feet, holding Ella outwards,

'Cyrus, what about Ella?' She called out and he waved his hand nonchalantly behind him as he continued walking,

'Call James.'

Olivia silently watched as he left her office and looked thoughtfully at Ella as she held her out in front of her, 'why do I feel like I've just been told off?' She asked Ella with a roll of her eyes, 'Quinn?' She shouted and smiled as Quinn stood in the doorway,

'Yes?'

Olivia looked at Ella before back at Quinn, 'how are you with babies?'


	5. You're the Chief of Staff

**Hi,**

**Thank you for the comments on this so far - please keep them coming as I love reading them and it gets the old creative juices flowing!**

**Just a quick note to say that I'm not from America so if I get anything wrong i.e. use different words for objects etc then just let me know and also American politics, as I'm not used to the systems silly mistakes can be made so if this happens just say and I'll correct it. **

**To the reviews so far - Olitz is definitely the end game here. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**-S&G**

Olivia breathed a sigh of relief as she unpacked the last file from a cardboard box on her desk. She set the file down and dropped the box to the floor, looking around her new office in the West Wing, however, she was quickly snapped from her daydream and back to reality as a the sharp knocking on the hard wood of her office door signalled she had a visitor.

'Come in,' she called, spinning around and leaning the backs of her thighs against her desk as she faced the door awaiting the entrance of the mystery guest. She shook her head and grinned, her eyes unintentionally lighting up as Fitz slid through the gap in the door, shutting it quietly behind himself and she watched intently as he approached her before he took a seat in front of her in one of two armchairs she had placed in front of her desk and he glanced around the room before settling his eyes back on to hers.

'I like what you've done with the place, do you like it?' He asked as he sat back in the chair and relaxed into a more comfortable position, smiling as she lifted herself on to the desk, holding the edge of the desk with her hands as her legs swung childishly.

'I love it, I'm excited,' he laughed at the glee in her voice, his laughter dissolving into a smirk as she pointed a finger at him with a small frown, 'hey! Don't you laugh at my enthusiasm Mr. President.' He raised his eyebrows at her,

'Don't call me that, it puts the both of us in an awkward situation,' she giggled lightly as he shuffled slightly in his chair,

'Mr. President?' She repeated, her face spelling out her teasing intentions, 'like that?'

He rolled his eyes at her daring attitude as she shrugged her shoulders at him. 'Olivia...' he stated, his voice warning her to behave appropriately.

'Yes Mr. President?' She asked innocently with a flutter of her eyelashes and he quickly leant forwards and grabbed both of her hands in his and before she had a chance to detach her hands from his firm grip he had pulled her from her seat on the desk and rearranged her on to his lap. She laughed as she wound one of her arms around his neck, leaning in so that her lips were inches from his.

'Don't mess me around Livvie,' he mumbled as he lightly danced his fingers across her thigh and his other hand fastened around her waist tighter to ensure her lack of movement away from him. She dipped her head in closer to him,

'Or what?' She muttered cheekily and he moved his head forwards the extra inch that was necessary and pressed his lips against hers firmly. She broke away from the kiss and rested her hand on his shoulder, 'this office is bigger than the one I had before,' he nodded his head in agreement.

'It was the closest office we had to the Oval that was empty,' he explained, his hand stroking against the material over her thighs. She stared into his eyes for a moment before resting her hand on his to still his hand. 'I'd have given you Cyrus',' he trailed off as her eyes narrowed slightly,

'That would have gone well,' she told him and he nodded his head.

'I know, that's how you ended up here.'

Olivia was pulled from their moment and jumped up from his lap as the door to her office was flung open and she sighed in relief as Cyrus closed the door behind him. He groaned as he turned to face the door before spinning back around, opening his mouth to speak before closing it again and rubbing his head with his hand as he attempted to discover the right words. 'You two,' Cyrus growled as Olivia and Fitz shared a small glance with one another before directing their attention back to Cyrus. 'You two, look have you seen this? Are you aware of what this invention right here does?' He pointed towards the lock on the door and quickly locked it. 'Look if you do that, nobody can come in, you two can kiss and do whatever the hell it is you two do when you're alone, god knows I don't need to use much imagination.' He looked at them as they remained silent, 'I could have been anyone walking in then!'

'But you weren't,' Fitz chipped in and Cyrus groaned audibly,

'But that's not the point. The point is that it might not be me next time.' A brief moment of heavy silence lay over them thick with an uncomfortable atmosphere.

'Are you done?' Fitz asked, standing from his chair and stepping towards Cyrus and he nodded,

'After my third heart attack of the week, I believe I might be for now.'

'What Olivia and I do is none of your business,'

Olivia moved towards him and placed a hand on his arm, 'Fitz,' he shook his arm from her grasp.

'No Olivia, what we do has nothing to do with anybody else. I could have my pants around my ankles with you on the desk and it would be none of his business. Am I making myself clear Cy? You're my Chief of Staff, you deal with problems, you sort out appointments with world leaders, you stay out of my personal life so act like it. I'm bored of the lectures Cy,' Fitz raised his voice as he threw his arms up in the air to highlight his exasperation, 'you're a gay republican with an adopted child and I've accepted that so why can't you accept that I'm in love with Olivia? I'm sick and tired of everybody thinking they can tell me what to do, how to live my life, I'm meant to be the most powerful man in the world,' he paused briefly and laughed at his own mockery, 'what a joke that is.'

Cyrus observed Olivia as she chewed her lower lip, her arms folded across her body as her eyes darted around the room apparently avoiding eye contact. He hung his head slightly and nodded, 'I'll be in my office if you need me Sir.' Cyrus unlocked the door and disappeared through it, leaving Olivia and Fitz in a blank silence.

After a few seconds Olivia spoke up, 'you shouldn't speak to him like that he only does what he thinks is best,' she stepped towards and made to wrap her arms around his middle. He shook his head and pushed her arms down by her sides,

'Not now Olivia.'

She gave him a questioning look, 'what?'

'I'm just, I don't want people to keep giving me orders like I'm a child,' he raised his voice slightly and swept out of the door, slamming it behind him as Olivia sank into one of the chairs.

The ten people gathered around the table reduced their chattering as Olivia approached the round table that they were seated around for a campaign meeting. She came to a halt at an empty seat and passed out what appeared to be booklets with a schedule dominating the front page. 'I'll keep it brief people, we're all very busy and I know it's 6pm and everybody wants to go home. I called this meeting to keep everybody in the loop about what is going to happen for the first few weeks of this re-election campaign.' She glanced around the table at the nodding heads, avoiding Fitz's gaze across the other side of the table before she continued. 'Currently, myself and the deputy press secretary Paula,' Paula took this opportunity to glance around the table at the unfamiliar faces with a smile, 'will be calling the old endorsements, the older donators and see what they're willing to do for us this time around before we go jumping in at the deep end and deciding what premises you're going to run on President Grant.' Her eyes flicked over him momentarily. 'We need to consider what you're running on, so myself, President Grant, the First Lady, Cyrus, Kayleigh from communications and Hannah who will have polling numbers by this time have a meeting scheduled for Wednesday to discuss the options and then we need to consider the campaign advertising, the billboards, the television and radio adverts. In every public appearance we all need to emphasise how strong President Grant is, how he's held the country together through the scandals, the assassination attempt and the blocking of almost every bill this administration has tried to push through. The Democrats will be running on change so we need to work out what our stance is going to be, any ideas see myself or Cyrus either in person or email them to us. The schedule on the papers I've given you is just a rough outline of the campaign stops we need to start making starting from two weeks today, I'll email you all updated versions as time progresses. Thanks everyone.' She finished abruptly and everybody immediately got to their feet and began to file out of the room as she attempted to push several A4 sized folders into her handbag.

She wrestled with the folder and her oversized handbag slowly without glancing upwards at the room. She knew he was hovering, waiting for her to finish her pretence and acknowledge him. Mellie looked between them both as the others exited the room swiftly and rolled her eyes,

'I'll see you later,' she said, her tone sweet with an underlying touch of venom as she left them alone, closing the door behind her. Olivia took a deep breath before collecting her bag off the desk and heading for the door,

'Goodbye Mr. President,' she stated without focusing on him fully. She sighed heavily as he darted in front of her before she reached the door,

'Liv, don't use that Mr. President crap on me like that, it's usually sexy, don't ruin it.'

She looked up at him under her eyelashes, 'have you apologised to Cyrus yet? I know he can seem like an ogre but it hurts him when you chastise him,' he shook his head,

'I know I shouldn't have said some of those things,' he turned away from her and sat on the desk in order to face her again, 'I mean,'

'Pants around your ankles with me on the desk?' She cut in as a reminder and he ran a hand across his face,

'Yes exactly that, I shouldn't. It just gets too much sometimes, I'm supposed to have all of this power but I just spend all of my time pacifying other people and when they tell me to jump all I can do is ask how high. If it's not Cyrus then it's Mellie and if it's not either of them then it's the American people.' She took a cautious step towards him and he considered it a positive sign. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't take it out on you and I certainly shouldn't have yelled at you,'

Olivia took another step closer to him, 'no, you shouldn't,' he leant forwards as she was now within his reach and he rested his hands on her hips and gently tugged her closer,

'Am I forgiven?' He asked, raising a hand to gently push her hair away from her face as she looked thoughtful for a moment,

'I'm not sure,' she responded, her tone playful. He pouted and widened his eyes making her laugh, 'oh stop with the puppy dog eyes I forgive you,' he grinned at stood in front of her as he leant down and kissed the top of her head before pulling back slightly and staring into her eyes as she studied his own. He took a step back after a few seconds and she strolled back towards the door, his hand gently on her back as he guided her,

'You know it really is something the way you can take control of a room Livvie,' he told her with a smirk and she turned her head to look at him,

'It's my job, I handle things.' He placed his hand on the door in order to open it,

'But yet you prefer it when I handle you,' he quipped with a cheeky smile as he opened the door for her and she walked through, shaking her head,

'I shall see you tomorrow Mr. President,' she said in a stricter tone than she had previously used and he quickly understood as he shut the door to the conference room behind him and bumped into Mellie. He watched Olivia disappear ahead of him,

'Mellie,' he greeted in a flat tone,

'Don't worry I'm not here to break up your romance I just thought I'd tell you that Martha wants to know if you want to feed Teddy his dinner tonight as you have no other _official_ meetings now,' she walked alongside him down the corridor as he nodded,

'It's fine, I'll go up now and see him.' He rounded the corner as she continued walking straight, rolling her eyes at his petulant behaviour.


	6. The First Couple

**Hi,**

**Sorry for the delay in updating, there's been quite a lot happening this end! **

**Enjoy and please review after **

**-S&G**

Olivia smiled at Lauren as she headed towards her desk on route to timetable a meeting into the President's heavy schedule but stopped before she reached the desk as she heard raised voices. Her brow furrowed as she glanced at Lauren who gave her a small smile as a gesture of welcoming despite the argument that was taking place before she looked towards Tom who was standing at the door to the Oval Office. Olivia stepped closer to Lauren's desk and gave her a questioning look as she gestured with her hand towards the door of the Oval Office where the raised voices were transforming into yells.

'Is that who I think it is?' She asked and Lauren nodded,

'Mr. President and the First Lady have been arguing for the past,' she glanced at the clock on her computer screen, 'twenty minutes.' Olivia sighed heavily, mentally debating whether or not it would be a good idea to intervene. 'Usually we would have sent Mr. Beene in to control the situation with the First Couple but he's in a meeting with the Vice President..' Lauren trailed off and Olivia nodded as she understood the hint that Lauren was giving her.

The momentary silence was broken as the argument cut through the air, 'why don't you just go and screw your whore' Mellie yelled and Olivia shared a knowing look with Tom and he nodded, sidestepping the door,

'I'll go,' she declared quickly making her way to the door and stepping through it, slamming the door loudly behind her and finding Fitz and Mellie only inches apart in front of her,

'Oh and here she is!' Mellie announced, stepping backwards from Fitz and opening her arms out gesturing towards Olivia.

Olivia's eyes darted between them both, 'I don't care what problem you two have right now but shouting about a whore in full volume of the entirety of the West Wing is the sort of thing that will not get the president a second term in office,' she glanced towards Fitz as he shook his head at Mellie, his jaw still clenched in anger as he sat in a chair biting his lip. 'This is not a joke,' Olivia continued as she turned her attention back to Mellie, 'the first lady and the president yelling at one another in the Oval Office is the type of thing that is newsworthy, it changes opinions, it's of interest to the entire press and staff, if you want to argue, use the residence but do not scream the word whore and then use it in conjunction with my name when you can be overheard.' Mellie rolled her eyes,

'Of course, Saint Olivia's back,' she mocked,

'Mellie.' Fitz stated her name and she threw a narrow eyed gaze in his direction,

'Don't use that tone with me Fitzgerald, I am trying to do the best for your election campaign here and all you can do is sit behind your desk thinking about Olivia, well I've had enough!' Her voice began to raise in volume once again.

Fitz groaned, 'Olivia, Mellie wants to use our children as pawns in our campaign.' He stated, a frown creasing across his forehead,

'We need to be united as a family after all of your indiscretions, there is no better way than to show that we are a family, you, me, Jerry, Karen and Teddy. Olivia will agree with me, it's the only option.' Mellie dived back in as Fitz sighed and sank back into his chair, pressing his fingers to his temple as he closed his eyes momentarily. He reopened them and focused on Olivia who was watching him carefully,

'Olivia. We didn't use them last time, I refuse to use my children in such a way. They don't want to be in California, bringing them back in order to use them and then send them away is just cruel.' Fitz argued and Olivia nodded as she began to pace back and forth. 'Liv?'

'I'm thinking.' Mellie and Fitz observed her as her brief bout of pacing slowed,

'If you don't want the children here then that is your choice Mr. President, however, Mellie has a point, nothing says an entirely fresh start and forgiveness like a family photo. Have either of you asked the children what they want?' Olivia questioned, setting her bag down on the sofa in front of her,

'Don't be ridiculous they're too young to know what they want.' Mellie shot and Fitz chuckled,

'You see, this is the problem, they're old enough to know what makes them unhappy Mellie and you need to listen, you're supposed to be their mother but you don't know Karen's favourite colour or Jerry's favourite video game, you don't know what makes them happy so how could you possibly know what makes them unhappy! You insisted they stay in Santa Barbara but you never asked what they wanted, or even what I wanted.'

'Ok let's calm down,' Olivia interjected before Mellie could respond to Fitz. 'Let's take the afternoon to think about it, consider asking Jerry and Karen what they would think to being a part of the campaign,' she paused as Fitz grunted, 'just see what they say, test the waters, you never know.'

Mellie shrugged her shoulders, 'works for me, maybe you can make him see sense Liv.' Olivia watched as Mellie straightened her posture, smoothed down the front of her dress and proceeded to leave the Oval. Olivia's attention turned to Fitz as he leant forwards and put his face in his hands as he sighed deeply. He lifted his head after a few moments and held out his hand towards her, gesturing for her to move within a closer proximity to him,

'Livvie,' she felt her stomach clench and flutter slightly as he used her nickname and her breath caught in her throat, she took a step forwards with a small smile before the shrill ringing of her phone sounded from inside her bag. Their moment was broken as she shot him an apologetic look and pulled her phone from her bag,

'Harrison... now?... ok, I'll be there.' She put the phone back in her bag as Fitz pouted at her, 'I'm sorry I have to go, they need me,'

He nodded his head, 'they do.'

Everyone turned to face Olivia as her heels on the hard floor attracted their attention towards her entrance, she placed her bag on the large table they were gathered around and frowned at their unusual silence.

'Ok, what's happened?' She asked cautiously, her eyes sweeping over them all and their awkward expressions. She looked towards Harrison who had sank lower into his seat and was avoiding eye contact, 'Harrison?'

'Nothing's happened Liv.' He responded and she changed her attention and focused it on Abby who was twirling her mobile phone in her hands and staring intently at it,

'Abby?' Abby shook her head, she glanced towards Huck and Quinn who were falsely staring at the laptop screen in front of Huck. 'Ok you called me here for a reason, what is it?'

Harrison took a deep breath and sat up in his seat, 'you remember those files you gave me? The dirt on certain people in the White House just before your name was released?' Olivia nodded,

'The ones I told you not to open until it was absolutely necessary?' Harrison slicked his tongue across his lips as he twitched his head slightly in a small agreement.

Olivia folded her arms across her chest. 'C'mon you can't expect us to not be interested,' Quinn added,

'What is the problem anyway?'

'A few of the things on the First Lady didn't add up,' Harrison explained, 'just certain points, the bad relationship with the children, the political marriage, shipping the children off to boarding school the minute they were both old enough, the refusal to have them near the White House unless it's for her own political gain.' Olivia perched on the side of the desk as she listened intently until Harrison paused.

'Go on...' She encouraged, her heart rate increasing as her foot began to tap unintentionally,

'I told them she just might not like kids, I mean hell I don't, if I had any and that amount of ridiculous money I'd send them away too!' Abby claimed,

'We, er, did some... extra research.' Huck trailed off and Olivia nodded her head slowly,

'What did you find?' She demanded, her tone becoming more impatient as she gulped back the anxiety,

Harrison glanced at the others before back at Olivia and lowered his voice slightly, 'we think there's a possibility that Jerry might not be the President's biological son.'

**I apologise for leaving this on a cliffhanger but it is the first cliff I've left you hanging on the edge of and it had to be done at some point!**

**Nevertheless, it was a short chapter but I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Thanks, feel free to review and add your ideas and thoughts! **

**-S&G**


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